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Forum:Ascent of the Bone Ziggurat
The Necromancer is a name whispered across the west, that of a truly dark and powerful wizard. Little is known of him personally; according to Sosostriss, he used to go by the title of the Elder Wizard, and is one of only two people in recent history who has mastered the use of ninth circle magics. It is also known that he rarely suffered those who may eventually rival him to live: he personally killed the archmage Rathbone the Red, the second user of ninth circle magics, and destroyed both the necromancy school of Ur-Nahash and everyone within. A personal trademark of his is a set of terrifying prismatic eyes: on one unsettling night, every Pathfinder and inhabitant of Willowdale was plagued with wretched nightmares, all of which featured these eyes. Some Pathfinders believe that they may have been confronted by him once in the form of a towering, armour-plated behemoth whose captivating eyes glowed with shifting colours, though they fled without confirming that the sight was true and not just a product of magic. While details of the Necromancer himself might be scarce, knowledge of his forces is more concrete. He had six confirmed disciples, liches of great power both physical and magical, whom he sent across the land to do his bidding. His seat of power was the Bone Ziggurat, and he at various times held alliances with the orcs of the Sawtooth Vale, the now-disbanded Legio XIII, and Char Nassed. It is reasonably believed that during the Battle of Willowdale, while his liches assaulted the Great Wall, another contingent of his forces attacked and drove off the currently missing druids of Ravenswood. From the words of his disciples and the malice of the dreams, it is known that the Necromancer was watching the activities of the Pathfinders with some intent. Shortly before the Necromancer's planned ascent during an eclipse, he sent several of his Disciples to Willowdale to lay waste to the town and challenge the Pathfinders to final combat. The Pathfinders met his challenge, slew five of his Disciples, and destroyed the Necromancer's physical body, freeing thousands of souls he had consumed over the milennia. The First Disciple renounced the cult of the Necromancer. Possible Leads *The story of Prince Bytor holds some interesting parallels between a past necromancer and the current threats. Some Pathfinders believed the the First Disciple to be the prince, while others thought he was being held captve in some fashion in the Bone Ziggurat. Bytor was in fact the captive of the Necromancer, who had attempted to turn him into a Seventh Disciple. Bytor was freed by the Pathfinders. *Both Sosostriss and the elders of Alsea spoke of a powerful artifact known as the Elfstone which may have the power to help stop the Necromancer. The Elfstone was indeed found to be particularly potent against the Necromancer, though it did not alone have the power to stop him. *An omen indicated that the Necromancer is waiting for some sort of meteorological event to occur late in the coming summer, specifically a total solar eclipse, and has a variety of plans falling into place in the meantime.